The Americas

Regulatory news in the Americas

Brazil – Authorities launch initiative to promote international cooperation among countries of the Global South on healthy and sustainable food systems

/ infoAlimentario

The countries of the Global South often face common challenges, such as hunger, poverty, inequality, food insecurity and climate change.

Understanding the importance of this mutual contribution, the Brazilian government, through the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger (MDS in Portuguese), in partnership with the Center of Excellence against Hunger of the World Food Program in Brazil (WFP in Portuguese) and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE in Portuguese), invites the countries of the Global South to share experiences of innovation in public policies aimed at strengthening healthy and sustainable food systems, in practice in these territories.

A notice, launched this Thursday (26.06), whose construction was coordinated by the National Secretariat of Food and Nutritional Security (SESAN in Portuguese) of the MDS, marks the launch of the Laboratory of Innovation in Public Policies for Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems – AlimentaLAB – a joint initiative, which aims to identify and disseminate experiences, through South-South cooperation.

Peru – DIGESA confirms the mandatory declaration of Tartrazine SIN 102 in food labeling and urges companies to replace it with other additives

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The Ministry of Health- MINSA, through the General Directorate of Environmental Health and Food Safety (DIGESA in Spanish), communicates (COMMUNICATION N° 006-2025-DIGESA/MINSA) to manufacturers of industrially processed foods that use the additive Tartrazine SIN 102 the following:

1. In the framework of the sentence issued by the Tenth Constitutional Court of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima (file N° 08388-2013-0-1801-JR-CI-10, confirmed by Resolution N° 07 of July 17, 2020 by the Third Civil Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima), any product that employs the additive in mention must declare on the labeling, at the end of the list of ingredients; in a specific, prominent, clear, visible and indubitable manner, in bold capital letters: “CONTAINS TARTRAZINE” and add the following phrase; “recommended use up to 7. 5 mg/kg b.w./day”.

COMUNICADO_06-2025-DIGESA-MINSA-01Download

Peru – INACAL approves new Peruvian Technical Standards on foodstuffs

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The National Institute of Quality (INACAL in Spanish) through Directorial Resolution No. 011-2025-INACAL/DN approved a series of Peruvian Technical Standards (NTP in Spanish) related to food and materials in contact with food.

  1. NTP 399.024:2025. FLEXIBLE PACKAGING. Aluminum-polyethylene laminate. Requirements. 2nd Edition
    This standard is applicable to the packaging of food and pharmaceutical products.
    Use: Food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and chemical sectors.
  2. NTP-ISO 23318:2025. Milk, powdered dairy products, and cream. Determination of fat content. Gravimetric method. 1st Edition
    Specifies the method for determining the fat content of raw (cow, sheep, or goat), partially skimmed, skimmed, chemically preserved, and processed milk; powdered dairy products; and raw, processed, or soured cream. Use: Dairy industry, agribusiness, food industry, and quality control laboratories.
  3. NTP 202.194:2020/MT 1:2025 MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS. Ripened Cheeses. Requirements. TECHNICAL MODIFICATION 1. 1st Edition
    Establishes the requirements that ripened cheeses must meet. Uses: dairy, agri-food, and food marketing industries.
  4. NTP 204.035:2025. FISH, SEAFOOD, AND DERIVED PRODUCTS. Fishmeal. 3rd Edition
    Establishes the classification and requirements for the different types of fishmeal. Uses: fishing, aquaculture, agro-industrial, and animal feed sectors.
  5. NTP 208.027:2025. COCOA AND CHOCOLATE. 4th Edition.
    Establishes the method for determining water-soluble and water-insoluble ash in cocoa products, with the exception of cocoa butter. Uses: agro-industrial, chocolate, and food sectors, and quality control.
  6. NTP 011.451:2018/MT 1:2025 ANDEAN GRAINS. Quinoa flour. Requirements. Technical Amendment 1. 1st Edition.
    Specifies the requirements that quinoa flour must meet for marketing and/or industrial uses, intended for human consumption. Use: agroindustrial, food industry, export and processing of Andean grains.
6867641-2025-rd11Download

Brazil – Bill proposed to suspend government decree on healthy eating in schools

/ infoAlimentario

Legislative Decree Bill (PDL) 18/24, currently pending in the Chamber of Deputies, suspends the government decree establishing guidelines for healthy eating in schools. The suspension was requested by Congresswoman Roberta Roma (PL-BA), who points out a number of problems with the law.

The deputy considers that Decree 11.821/23 adopts scientifically questionable concepts and defames the food and beverage industry, with serious economic and food safety consequences.

Degree of processing

The deputy especially criticizes the use of the new classification, which groups foods according to their degree of processing. The decree limits the display and sale of ultra-processed foods in schools, such as filled cookies and soft drinks.

According to Roberta, the classification contradicts the opinion of representatives from the areas of food research and science, who consider it wrong to classify the quality of an industrialized product according to its degree of processing.

“After all, there is no such thing as good or bad food, only an unbalanced diet,” says the congresswoman. According to her, “the level of processing to which food and beverages are subjected does not determine the nutritional content of the final product”.

Jamaica – Front-of-Package Warning Labels to Help Persons Make Healthier Food Choices

/ infoAlimentario

The Government remains committed to introducing front-of-package warning labelling as a policy tool to support healthier food choices, says Director, Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Simone Spence.

However, Dr. Spence informed that no final decision has yet been made regarding the specific format that will be adopted.

“We are continuing to examine the evidence and engage stakeholders to ensure that whatever solution is chosen will be practical, effective, and aligned with our national health goals,” she said.

Dr. Spence was speaking at the launch of ‘Fix My Food Jamaica: Youth-Led Advocacy for Healthier Food Environments’, held at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston on June 5.

Jamaica is the first country in Latin America to launch Fix My Food (FMF), a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)-led global youth movement.